I offer a limited number of time slots for parents of children ages 3 - 12 struggling with anxiety, sleep difficulties, trouble with transitions and more.
Parent Coaching is an efficient, effective way for parents to learn to respond calmly and with intention to behavioral challenges, helping children build the skills they need to live happier lives.
Welcome to my site
I am a Parent Coach and author of popular self-help books for kids. I am also an educator, public speaker, and parent of a once-anxious child.
Scroll down to learn more about the services I offer or jump to my biographical sketch.
View the Trailer to Dr. Dawn's Latest Book!
The Sibling Survival Guide: Surefire Ways to Solve Conflicts, Reduce Rivalry, and Have More Fun With Brothers and Sisters helps children ages 9-12 learn the skills they need to get along. View the trailer or read more about the book here.
New Thoughts on an Old Idea
Talking Back to Worry
The piece of my thinking that has evolved most significantly in the nearly 20-years since I got on the CBT bandwagon and wrote What to Do When You Worry Too Much has to do with the relationship between a worrier and his/her Worry.
I think of Worry with an upper-case W. A critter of some sort, personified, external. That part, I think I got right. But initially, I conceptualized that externalized Worry as a bully... (read more)
Books
Practical and engaging, these award-winning books guide children and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques used to treat anxiety, anger, negative thinking and more. Lively, humorous and immediately usable, each book presents new ways of thinking while giving step-by-step instructions that empower children to work towards change.
Speaking
I am available to speak in a variety of ways:
- Live and virtual events
- Podcasts and blogs
- Media interviews
I interviewed Dr. Huebner recently for a news story. What a find! She was incredibly knowledgeable, and her on-camera skills were the best I've seen. In 15 minutes I had more sound bites than I could use.
Parent Coaching
might be for you if...
✶ You are concerned about your 2 - 12 year old, and want help understanding how to turn things around
✶ You want information and support to better manage a specific problem, or set of problems
✶ You would like to help your child learn to manage feelings more effectively and behave more appropriately
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
might be for you if...
✶ Your 6 - 12 year old has significant difficulty with anxiety
✶ You are looking for a skill-focused approach
✶ You are ready to guide your child through practice activities that will be time-consuming and emotionally challenging (I will teach you how)
Tips for Parents
Parenting can be wonderful. It can also be exhausting, exhilarating, maddening, baffling, and surprising.
This section has a collection of tips and tricks to help you handle the toughest, and most common, parenting challenges. Dip into these short pieces for advice on everything from sensory challenges to effective reward systems.
Something Bad Happened: A Kid’s Guide to Learning About Events in the News
When children learn about something BIG and BAD — even when they hear only bits and pieces — their brains get busy trying to make sense of it.
Where did it happen?
Why did it happen?
Will it happen again?
Something Bad Happened guides children ages 6 to 12 and the adults who care about them through tough conversations about serious world events, from environmental threats to human tragedies. Care is taken to use the non-specific term “bad thing” throughout, helping parents retain control over which events to talk about, and how much information to provide.
What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety
Did you know that worries are like tomatoes? No, you can't eat them, but you can make them grow, simply by paying attention to them. If your worries have grown so big that they bother you almost every day, this book is for you.
What to Do When You Worry Too Much is an interactive self-help book designed to guide 6 - 12 year olds and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques most often used in the treatment of generalized anxiety. Metaphors and humorous illustrations make difficult concepts easy to understand, while prompts to draw and write help children to master new skills related to reducing anxiety.
Media Appearances
I am happy to talk with journalists, bloggers, radio hosts and others about kids and mental health. Please contact me.
Re-thinking Anxiety (TEDx 2015)
We are hard-wired to shrink away from things that might hurt us. That’s a good thing, fighting, fleeing or freezing in the face of danger. But anxiety is about perceived danger, very different from actual danger, and over-responding leads to problems of its own.
Re-thinking Anxiety (TEDx 2015) describes my path into this work, and gives tips on how to face fear instead of running away. Watch Re-thinking Anxiety (TEDx 2015) now.